Marquee: The Dears

Wednesday

May 6, 2009 at 12:01 AMMay 7, 2009 at 4:17 AM

Dangerbird Records is the flagship of an indie-rock subgenre I've previously dubbed "swoon rock," so I was pleased to find out the label's most prominent act, Silversun Pickups, called its sophomore album Swoon.

Dangerbird Records is the flagship of an indie-rock subgenre I've previously dubbed "swoon rock," so I was pleased to find out the label's most prominent act, Silversun Pickups, called its sophomore album Swoon.

Those shrill Smashing Pumpkins biters won't be here Sunday, but two more from their Dangerbird crew will be, plus another L.A. band that might as well sign with the label. None of these groups sound exactly alike, but they share a safe-but-spacey sensibility that goes down easy but might seem bland for folks who take their whiskey straight, no chaser.

Montreal's The Dears will headline. The group's dreamy alt-pop made them indie-rock celebs a few years back, though my encounter with them at Austin's SXSW music fest left me wondering why - they seemed to be substituting self-important pomp and circumstance for songwriting substance.

2008 release Missiles redeemed The Dears for me. Their dreamy chamber-pop is elaborate and subtle, and it requires more attention than I could muster in a crowded amphitheater. Sorry, Dears: "Dream Job" alone is proof I should have listened more closely.

Eulogies, featuring Dangerbird head honcho Peter Walker, is a more digestible version of Silversun Pickups, as if that bunch turned down the intensity to Sunday-drive levels without sacrificing the melancholy flair. L.A. neighbors Great Northern, who add boy-girl vocals to the swoon-rock formula, round out the lineup.